Daybreak
by DefendTheUndefended
Summary: The wars took everything from Ichigo. The family he had built with the people around him. A family connected in all but blood. His reason to fight and to live. All he ever wanted was to keep his family safe, but he failed. After the wars a barrier and an illusion are torn down, and secrets are revealed. Two broken people just might find who they need for them to heal. A new family.
1. 1) Sad Machine

Sad Machine

1

PLEASE READ HEADNOTE!!

I don't own One Piece or Bleach.

Sorry for the slight confusion involving this chapter. Everything will be explained soon. This is talking about Ichigo and how his mind kind of is currently. This starts right after Yawch is killed but I am going to be changing some events in the Winter War and 100 Year Blood War. Like I said it will be explained.

\--(xXx)--

He loved that time between the transitions of night and day early in the morning. Where all is peaceful and the earth itself doesn't make a sound.

It couldn't be called sunrise or morning because at this time the sun isn't even showing it's face yet even if its light was starting to appear over the horizon. He couldn't call it night either because it's to bright and the sounds of the night, the chirping of the crickets, the soft snores of the people into the houses around him echoing, are absent. It couldn't really be called anything.

They're many reasons he loved that time, but he also hated it.

Hated it because in its own ways it reminded him of every single failure he had let happen. Every one he had lost.

It let his mind rampage to fill the silence.

But it was the only chance he got to be alone.

He knew it was contradictory and a bit confusing, but he didn't care. That was all his mind seemed to be lately anyways.

He constantly teetered on the thin string that acted as a poor excuse for a barrier between depression and a dull normalcy. It was too easy to cross that barrier. Easier than it should be. And he couldn't stay on the barrier in between the two, because too long in that thin space would give him insanity.

He refused to go insane.

Refused to let himself just fall and do whatever he wanted without a care for the consequences. He couldn't. Not when ten million people looked to him for a savior. For a hero. For a leader and protector.

Not when he had their lives baring down on a frame that looked strong on the outside but held such a world-weary bone-deep ache that would rock it with spasms of pain, a frame that shook with the threat of permanent collapse on the inside from their unwarranted weight.

A frame he had to call his own.

He didn't know what actually still held him up. What held him before was the lives of his family, the others that were family in all but blood along with them. But they were gone. Dead. Ripped away from him by his enemy and thrown out of his reach forever.

There was only one that remained standing, but that one was so broken. Only an echo of his former self covered by fake smiles, a bucket hat, and paper fan.

He didn't know what kept him up. What made him keep moving anymore.

The ones that looked to him as their hero were not his family. Yes they were people he had saved but they weren't family. They treated him as if he was some unstoppable force that could never be broken and would protect them from any threat that ever arose and he was just their celebrity to parade around for a perfect image of strength in their society.

They were nameless to him. Just another face in the crowds that surrounded him trying to be seen with him to raise their own reputation.

None of them seemed to remember he was a eighteen year old human who at barely 15 years old had been pulled into their wars that he otherwise would have had nothing to do with. None of them remembered that he had his life taken away from him. None remembered that he lost people too.

None of them seemed to remember he was human.

None seemed to remember he wasn't unbreakable.

He had met the shinigami. Became one of them. Made a family there formed by blood, sweat, and pain. Fought in two wars to protect that family. Just to loose them throughout those same two wars. By death, rejection, or betrayal all of them were ripped violently away from him.

Every. Single. One.

And as each was taken from him, in one way or another, a deep gorge was slashed into his heart. With each one that left, his smiles came less and less, his face more pinched and cold then before.

By the end of it all he had been the one left standing. Surrounded by darkness in front of him outlined by the bodies of the faceless shinigami that all held greed filled smiles when they looked at him, his ankles covered in a river of blood that held the bodies of his family. His clothes ripped and torn so badly they were rags hanging off his body, showing the skin underneath covered in scars and open wounds that poured blood from his body, all shed to protect but only bore the fruit of the death of his family and the rejection, the betrayal, of those he loved.

His sword covered in the blood of his enemy, but he could hear his sword wailing inside its form. Inside his soul, as they tried to help him by taking some of his pain and burden from his shoulders, only to practically be crushed by the unrelenting weight of everything. Wailing out their pain in their own way, unable to express it fully for just anyone to see and understand. They were cracked as well. Not their weapon form but the souls were. They were tired of constantly fighting in battles they had no will to fight in just as their master felt.

So what kept him going? He honestly did not have an answer.

Thinking on this he realized.

He probably never would.


	2. 2) My Demons

My Demons

2

Sorry kinda long.

They had known about the walls. They had known about the world outside of them.

They had known their own history. The world they were apart of. They had known about all of it. But then they suddenly didn't.

They suddenly weren't even aware of its existence and never even noticed the barrier between them and the sea.

Their ships crumbled, untouched and cut off from their oblivious owners who didn't even realized they owned ships. All records of the world outside were destroyed, along with their memories.

Knowledge of their own world was taken from them.

Years passed. A psychopath with a god-complex rose in his plans, grew stronger and nearly broke everyone there, by killing or manipulation.

And so another arose alongside him. To fight against him and to protect the people begging to live. To combat him. A boy not even 16 years old, pulled into a war he should have had no place in.

He fought, and bled, and screamed to gain his power, the power he would only use to protect the millions that stood behind him. He struggled for ever inch and forced himself never to stop. To become the wall between a cold hearted murderer and thousands of innocents.

He built a family among those innocents. A family in all, but blood. Nakama.

All he wanted was that family. For them to be protected. That was what he fought for. They were his reason for fighting. His reason to never fall because of pain from gashes torn into his body. His reason to never give up.

All he wanted was for them to be protected. To stay alive and beside him.

And he failed.

Many died in the war raged by the psychopathic murderer. That war was dubbed The Winter War, and it became the grave for many people. Some of his family included.

It all had come down to one fight. Him against the man who wanted to rule over everyone as a tyrant, a man named Aizen against a boy, if only in age, named Ichigo.

Their fight leveled mountains and shook the ground for miles around them. In the end, Ichigo sacrificed everything he had, his only connection to the majority of his family, part of his very soul, and won. All just to keep them safe.

To him it was worth it. As long as the ones still remaining alive were safe, it was worth it.

With the destruction of Aizen's weapon, a sword that could manipulate and control people, make them see illusions, forget anything, a sword that could completely hypnotize anyone who's eyes laid upon it, came the remberance of the world they lived in.

Or at least some of it.

They still didn't remember some things. But they remembered that the wall didn't belong there and that before they had forgotten, before Aizen had made them forget, they had been trying to bring it down.

They had tried many times before and all attempts had failed.

But they couldn't just jump right back into the project of removing the wall just yet. They had just been through a war, thousands of people were dead and needed to be buried, their society had been reduced to rubble and needed to be rebuilt, billions of souls, unable to fight, innocent untrained civilian souls were scared and needed reassurance that the threat was gone and that they were now safe. That they didn't have to fear longer than they had been through the entire war.

And they had lost their only connection to the man, he could no longer be called a boy- he had lost and seen to much to still be called something so childish and innocent, who saved them all and who had been the strongest among them.

They needed to train themselves up, so that they could help protect the innocents around them, just like the one who saved them before had. They needed to train so that they would never have someone who had no place in their fights be pulled into their battles again.

And they did. They became stronger. Rebuilt their home. Buried their dead. And unknowingly ignored they very one who they owed their lives to.

They were reminded though, were the man they ignored started to try and force what he sacrificed to come back. So that he could see them again. So that he wouldn't be ignored any longer. So he wouldn't be treated like glass by those that lived near him.

It was a rude awakening, and in response as an apology and, in a way, something to help and start repaying the man for what he had done, they created a way for him to come back.

All of them, gave him their power to jumpstart his own.

He was once again connected to them. And they rejoiced.

They eventually restarted the project of removing the wall. But all efforts they came up with, always failed.

The peace they had didn't last long. Another would-be ruler arose. A Quincy. The Quincy King. Yawch. A terrorist with an army. Who named his war The 100 Year Blood Purge.

His army stole their abilities, and used them against their original owners. It was unexpected. It was devastating. Once again Ichigo was drawn into the fight, to protect those he loved.

He found out secrets he hadn't known about himself. Secrets people had been purposefully keeping from him.

When his weapon shattered he had felt a fear that he would have to stay out of the fight and watch his family die. But then stronger people came from the skies. People who called themselves the Royal Guard.

They took him, and the last remaining of his family to their home in another realm, the Royal Realm, and made them stronger.

They healed his remaining Nakama, reformed his power into what it was meant to be instead of the imitation it had been before, made them stronger, and sent them back to fight on the front lines.

Despite it all. Ichigo's power being healed and corrected. His Nakama's power being strengthened he watched them all eventually fall around him. And he could do nothing to stop it.

Eventually when he beheaded the man who called himself the Quincy King, and the balance of the realms healed itself from the damage the terrorist had caused, Ichigo looks around himself and mourned.

Mourned because all of his nakama. His family had been taken from him.

No. Not all of them where dead, but they refused to let themselves still be called his family. Some he had lost because they feared what was in his soul. What part of his soul, his power that he nothing but protect them with, took the form in. A Hollow. A Hollow that gave him the abilities and part of the appearance of the Hollow race.

The hollows were the opposite of the shinigami. They were lost souls that had been corrupted by emotion grief or pain, and then twisted into a form of a creature that became instinct driven, and attacked the living and uncorrupted souls in an attempt to fill an unfillable void that was ripped into them when they were forced into their new forms.

The shinigami fought the hollows and cleansed them, reverting their forms and sending them to were they were supposed to be. The Society of Souls or Hell.

Part of Ichigo's power manifested as a Hollow that lived inside his head. The inner Hollow was unique and almost nothing like their counterpart, the ones the shinigami fought in the physical world.

Some of his family feared the Hollow in his soul and abandoned him. Refused to be around or called the friend of a Hollow.

It hurt.

It hurt Ichigo that they didn't accept who he was or his power. The Hollow was hurt as well because despite what they thought hollows did feel emotion. And to Ichigo's inner Hollow they had been pack. And pack is supposed to be tighter than what they proved to be, but the left without a second thought, betrayed and rejected them and didn't look back. The hollow's sorrow soon turned to rage and Ichigo had many more fights with the Hollow to try and quell it just a bit. In turn he became stronger because of it.

Some rejected his presence when they found out he wasn't just a human with shinigami abilities but was part Hollow, Quincy, and Shinigami. All while still being alive as a human.

He was an anomaly. He was not like any of them. He was all four races into one, and had the abilities that some humans developed and called themselves Fullbringers, at his fingertips. They feared how strong he had gotten, so they rejected him.

They so easily seemed to forget that he forced himself to develop his power from the raw mass it had been for them.

Some betrayed, by going over to the other side in the war led by Yawch. He had wept, when he had a chance alone, for those that did. Because he knew that no matter how much he would try to stop it they would somehow force him to kill them. Even if it meant taking his sword and impaling themselves on it.

He couldn't have been more right in his assumption.

And the rest. The little bit of family had left that hadn't betrayed or rejected him, all died. And he hadn't been able to save them.

Only one of his family had survived.

If you could call what was left of the man called Kiskue Urahara, surviving.

Kiskue had been beaten in a fight and then been forced to watch as his lover was tortured and killed in front of him while he couldn't even move because of his wounds.

Kiskue had then been taken captive by the Quincy, because of his intelligence, and was forced to make weapons for them that would put the shinigami at a disadvantage. Every time a shinigami was killed because of one of his inventions he was told about it in great detail, and was forcefully shown the images of the bodies.

Some of the ones that were killed had been apart of the little family Ichigo had built. Therefore they had also been called family by Kiskue, even if he never outright said or showed it.

Their deaths made him fall into a never ending loop of guilt and pain.

By the time Ichigo had found him he had been a shell of his former self. A mask over a soul that moved and did what it was supposed to, but his eyes never held that playful glint they once did, or that mischievous gleam that would spark whenever the opportunity arose.

It pained Ichigo to see the only remaining family he had like this.

When the war ended. Kiskue and Ichigo became each other's grounders. Like brothers. Family. They were all each other had left, so they slowly worked to heal each other. The scars, the emotional whirlwind of pain.

Everything.

Progress had been made, but they could never go back to what they were before everything was ripped from them.

None of the remaining Shinigami seemed to take notice or tried to help them heal. They were slightly thankful for that because the only thing the others would do would just make it worse, but both of them had wished the shinigami remembered that they were not unbreakable, and that they needed time to heal.

Their wishes went unanswered.

The project for the removal of the wall was restored once again after they recovered from the second war.

The shinigami soon found that the wall, located on the outskirts of the many districts where untrained and innocent souls resided, had been severally damaged in the 100 Year Blood Purge. All it took to take it down had been several final strong attacks with their power and suddenly, after so long the wall was finally gone.

So many souls that had been stuck on the other side of the wall, separated from the society of the dead, came rushing through still in the forms of the midnight colored insects called Hell Butterflies.

They had been protected by the wall from the hollows. And the souls the butterflies carried were asleep. Once the souls were settled into the society the butterflies disappeared, to await the time they were called on again. The souls themselves had no memory of who they used to be. Just as any other soul would.

They had just been waiting in a way. The process of coming to the Society put on hold until the wall had been removed.

The shinigami were curious about the rest of their world. And how it might have changed. So they decided to send their strongest out, to find out the answers they were missing.

Once again Ichigo was called out. He hadn't had enough time to heal. He was on that road, but he was no where near close to being healed. A thought had entered him mind. 'His just might never be.'

When he was told of what they were going to be asking him to do, he mentally took a step back and looked.

The shinigami were the ones breaking him.

At that moment a resolve filled his mind. He would no longer be their tool to use then toss into the back cupboard to be forgotten about until it was time for him to fix something. No. He would not let these people try to control him any longer. This mission was the perfect chance to get away from them.

They didn't even realize they were giving him the opportunity to be free and live his own life for once.

They were not his enemies no. But they were not his nakama either. Nor his allies. They just fought on the same side.

Well it didn't matter anymore. He would leave on this mission, and never return. Of course he would still send back reports, but they would never see him again.

For the first time, since they had known about the existence of Ichigo Kurosaki, they saw him smile. It was small and barely there, but it was a smile nonetheless.

None of them seemed to understand or take action against the sense of a mistake being made.

They would, probably, never realize that they just signed his release papers. They just signed him the requirements for his freedom.


	3. AN

Not an Update but important for the story.

Some of this is going to be explained throughout but I figured I could sate some curiosity. I won't go into too much detail here because like I said it will be explained later on in the chapters as well.

The Soul Society is actually a massive moving island. Meaning it doesn't have a set place on the sea as its home and is constantly moving around slowly.

The island is apart of the One Piece world. On the island is a cesspool magnet for dimensional rifts or doorways to other world very closely connected. This is why this island can reach the human world where Ichigo is from, Huecho Mundo, The Royal Realm, and the gates of Hell. (I think that's all of them-?-)

The island is basically an island for the dead. Simple as that. When someone dies they go there, no matter the realm they are from. Simple. The shinigami still have their normal jobs in the One Piece world but the Hell Butterflies from that world are more sentient(?) meaning they are going to have more abilities besides just acting as a guide through the dimensional rifts and messengers. That's why the ones that died after the wall appeared came towards the society with the butterflies but no shinigami to send them off.

Let's see what else.

Oh the wars!

After watching all of the Bleach anime, reading the Quincy war in the Bleach manga, and only gotten to the part where they introduce Ace in the One Piece manga, I felt like they glossed over the wars. Made them less harsh than what they really would have been.

Like in Aizen's war. Yes it's mentioned he killed, but besides the Central 46 we actually don't see him killing much. (IM A FIRM BELIEVER THAT GIN ISN'T DEAD BECAUSE OF RANGIKU'S FLASHBACK AFTEN AIZEN WAS DEFEATED WHILE SHE WAS STANDING OUTSIDE OF THE CAVE TOSHIRO WAS IN!!!!!) Manipulating, being a butthole, and controlling people, yes. I don't deny that Aizen is a psychopathic murderer with a superiority and god-complex the size of Russia. But in the anime we don't see much killing from him.

So I revised the war a bit. In my version it lasted much longer than what the anime made it seem, with much more little fights and conflicts before the final fight between Ichigo and Aizen. And sadly a lot more deaths.

Because honestly in a war, manipulated by Aizen, you don't seriously think he would actually wait until the final fight to try and take out the enemy forces. I'm speaking in terms of if his war took place in the real world. Sure you could say he is just too cocky and would continue to do in a war raged in our world what he did in the manga but this is my version so yea...

Anyways a lot more people die, the Soul Society is reduced to practically rubble, like in any massive war, it lasts a lot longer, and their are many more battles and conflicts.

Betrayals and allies are lost and gained for both sides and eventually it all comes down to the Mugestsu Ichigo vs Transcendent Aizen fight. Ichigo wins-if you call what happened a win, I don't because he just lost so much in that one fight in the anime- and slowly they start to rebuild and fix themselves from the war.

It's kinda canon from there besides the people who died not being there, the wall being there, and all that. It's practically canon until after the fullbringer arc. When the Quincy war is started.

Most events there are canon as well. Yamamoto still dies. Ichigo's sword still shatters. The Royal guards still come down and take him back to the Royal realm to heal and train. He still gains the real Zangetsu. The Quincy still steal the bankai and the temporary addition of Hollow reitsu into the shinigami with stolen bankai is still there. Ichigo still defeats Yawch and unmistakenly kills the Soul King. (Honestly I felt like Ichigo went into that fight unprepared and uninformed about common shinigami knowledge.)

Again allies betray and enemies turn allies. Many many more people die and it last longer than the Winter war and what the manga makes you think. And Ichigo wins.

I'm sorry I'm being vague but I don't want to reveal too much.

In all of this Ichigo becomes stronger. Extremely strong. Also you can't tell me Ichigo isn't the strongest Shinigami, if very untrained and undereducated about his own power and abilities he should have, when he defeated both Aizen and Yawch when no one else could. Yes he had help, but that's basically what keeps Ichigo moving is his nakama, so he would have won anyways as long as they stood by his side.

At the end of it all Ichigo's inner circle of friends/nakama are all dead besides Kiskue. (I HAVE A REASON FOR THIS DONT JUDGE. Besides Kiskue is awesome. In his own way.) including his human family and friends. Aka the humans and all the Kurosakis

The shinigami finally bring down the wall after the war and Ichigo realizes the remaining shinigami have only been treating him like a glorified tool. And that they only call on him when they need him to do something for him. And he doesn't like it. Then they basically serve up his way out on a silver platter and he takes the opportunity.

The rest you'll have to read to find out. Sorry for being vague. And explaining the changes I made it's just that I'm not going to be focusing a lot on the Bleachverse or the Shinigami or Soul Society. I'm going to be focusing more on the One Piece verse.

More things will be explained later throughout the story.

Anyways I hope y'all enjoy.

You can find me here on , and over on Wattpad. I'm under the same name on both accounts. More of my stories are on Wattpad that . I'm working on transferring them and updating them in the little free time I've had lately. I'm so sorry for the delay. I'm just trying to catch up. Please forgive me!!

Well I hope you like this story. Enjoy.

~Defend


	4. 3) Hope of Morning

Hope Of Morning

3

Sorry one more like this and then we get to the fun parts!!

\--(xXx)--

Ichigo stood at the newly rebuilt dock as he waited for the other shinigami to finish preping the boat they would be sending him off in.

His mind wandered as he watched them.

When he had been told the truth about the Soul Society, he honestly didn't believe it at first. Who would, when they were told like he was? He had literally been given a crash course of it all by Kurotsuchi and Nemu II. The Soul Society being one of the biggest islands ever, apart of another world.

It had been hard to fathom. The island was the island for the dead. It had the afterlife, reincarnation cycle, everything contained apart of the island, including the connections to Huecho Mundo and the other world of the living, the world he had been born in.

The inhabitants outside of the island were almost the same as the ones he grew up with, except the people who lived there could see them. But if any living person came to the island, no matter if they knew about shinigami or not, they would only find a barren expanse of land with tall, soft grass and a huge 78 ft tall pillar of gray stone. Almost like a memorial stone.

Kurotsuchi said that before the wall had appeared, separating them from the rest of the world, a new era had just been predicted to start. The Great Pirate Era.

Even just the name sounded interesting.

This world was covered in more water than land, so one of the first things he did after hearing the explanation was spend two months learning to navigate and sail a boat.

The information the others had on the world outside of their island, was more than limited and bordered on the point of no information at all. And what little information they did have, Ichigo read and took the context with a grain of salt.

Not that he thought the shinigami were incompetent in gathering information, but the fact that the ones who gathered it were probably all dead by now, and it had been over 1000 years since they had been separated by the wall, didn't give him much confidence in the current files.

The next thing he did was make a plan. And he intended to carry it out.

He was pulled out of his own head when the lead shinigami of the men that had been preparing the boat started to walk over to him.

The man looked up to him and smiled. Ichigo didn't return it. "Everything seems to be in order sir. The check has been completed and it's ready to go."

Ichigo nodded to him and turned to watch as the rest of the workers stepped off the boat. He hesitated as they passed him, chattering away with each other, without giving him a glance.

He waited until he could no longer hear their soft foot falls or their constant chatter. Looking over to his left side right before the buzz of a flashstep sounded and the familiar form of the blonde shopkeeper appeared.

They looked at each other for a moment before Kisuke turned to face the small ship, examining it from a distance.

"You sure about this?" The orange haired man asked as he saw the calculating gleam in the blond shopkeepers dull eyes. He knew what the answer would be but he wanted to know if Kisuke knew his own answer.

The blond spoke. "Of corse. There's nothing left for me here."

Ichigo nodded and turned away as he started to walk towards the ship. "You know we won't be coming back." He mentioned, offhandedly, in reality he was listening and analyzing every word Kisuke would respond with.

The blond watched the younger man walk forward for a moment, towards the ship. Towards their freedom. He had no doubt he wanted to go, to leave, with Ichigo. The last of his family.

But something kept his feet still, almost paralyzed. The thought of leaving the soul society forever, never to come back. Never looking back.

It put a sense of some kind of fear in him, of disappointment and devastation.

He had been born here, on this island, inside the walls, had grown up here. And all his life he had forced himself to work to exhaustion just so he could hope to have some sort of approval and acceptance amongst his own race of people. All his life, gaining their approval had been his purpose.

To suddenly leave...It'd be devastating. No that's not the right word. Depressing maybe, but leaving this place wouldn't be devastating. It wouldn't devastate him.

It would be freeing.

He knew what leaving would do to him, but he needed this. He needed to leave. He had to leave this place behind. Leave behind the chains holding him here. The chains that constantly restrained and pulled him, tethering him to a society that he had worked so hard to try and please but was always met with an inevitable failure. Chains that seemed to whisper to him as they rattled, keeping him from sleeping at night, keeping him from breathing. Chains that no one could see.

He had to leave. If he did he would no longer have those chains.

He might be able to breathe for once.

Ichigo stepped onto the boat and turned around to look at him, he hadn't moved from his previous position. Ichigo could see the hesitation and conflict in the man's eyes and a small smile flirted with the edge of Ichigo's lips.

He leaned over the edge of the boat and held his hand out to the blonde shopkeeper. Silently offering the reassurance that he would be there with him, would help him find a new purpose.

That he wouldn't be alone.

Kisuke once again looked into the man's eyes. The man he trusted with his life. He saw the conviction in amber eyes, and for the first time in years an honest smile graced the edge of his lips.

He reached out and took the hand of mercy held in front of him.


	5. 4) Strangers

Strangers

4

Along with this chapter I need your help!! I've looked everywhere online and I can't find out what type of swords Ichigo now wields. I don't mean what type of Zanpakuto or what Zangetsu's name is I mean what type of sword he physically has. Like a nodachi, wakizashi, or odachi, etc. I've found other characters but for the life of me I can't find Ichigo's. The type for his newest swords. Someone please help!!!!! I'm desperate.

Also since both the Hollow Ichigo and Old Man Zangetsu are technically Zangetsu I'm calling Hollow Ichigo Kurozen or Kuro for short and Tensa for the Old Man Zangetsu.

\--(xXx)--

The spyglass gave off a soft clink in Kisuke's hands as he shortened it and tucked it away.

He sighed and continued to look towards where the island he had just spotted through aforementioned spyglass had been.

He clicked his tongue before turning his head to look to the only other occupant of the smaller fisherman's sailboat.

Ichigo was sitting on the deck with his legs crossed, one over the other, with both his swords in his lap. A single hand on each. His eyes were closed and he seemed oblivious to the world around him and the wind that had taken to dancing in his orange hair.

Kisuke snorted as he watched a cut appear seemingly out of nowhere over Ichigo's left eyebrow and followed the small trail of blood that decided to sluggishly stream from it.

Kisuke walked the two steps over the the younger male and bent down, picking up a cloth already spotted with brown and red splotches of blood that was sitting beside Ichigo's knee.

Using the cloth he reached up and wiped the blood away from the others forehead. "Honestly." He sighed in slight exasperation before sitting alongside Ichigo and leaning back to wait until Ichigo pulled himself from his inner world.

Kisuke's eyes drifted to the pair of blades in the others lap and he had to close his eyes when he felt a sudden pang in his chest.

He could be jealous. It would have been a logical reaction. But he refused to let himself be. Not of Ichigo or anyone else who still had their swords and weren't now crippled as he was.

He especially wouldn't allow Ichigo to think he felt that way.

But as his hand unconsciously drifted to the sword that was sheathed at his side, he allowed himself a moment to feel the pain he so often would ignore.

Kisuke hated very few people, but he would always loathe the ones who took Benihime away from him.

A zanpakuto was half a shinigami's soul, power, life essence, and reiatsu. And the Quincy had known it. So when their plan of stealing and wielding zanpakuto had failed they made a way to kill the sword's spirits. Pulling the spirits from the shinigami's inner world and paralyzing the spirit and shinigami as they both screamed in agony and then ruthlessly murdering the sword spirit.

Benihime's death and screams still, and would forever, haunt him. Many shinigami had died from their Zanpakuto's deaths. He honestly didn't know how he survived Benihime's.

He could still wield a normal sword but he would never be able to touch a zanpakuto again. That should have given him some form of comfort but it never would. Ever time he touched a blade he would be reminded of Benihime's death, just because he could no longer feel the familiar warmth of a Zanpokuto. The warmth that meant life.

He still had Benihime's shell, because that really was all she was now, tucked away in the cane sheath and stored away in a portable pocket dimension. Now he carried a normal steel blade at his side. He could barely bring himself to draw it.

He opened his eyes when he heard Ichigo groan, successfully pulling him from his own head and once again pushing down the pain he felt from his partner's death. He glanced out of the corner of his eyes with a small fake smirk on his face as Ichigo mumbled under his breath and he rubbed his head in frustration and slight pain.

"They still giving you trouble?" He offered in a light amused tone, to get Ichigo more aware of his surroundings and used to being into this world again. He did estimate they would be arriving at the island in an hour, maybe two, the quicker the better.

Ichigo grunted before glaring down at his swords with no real heat, but a general amount of annoyance. "Yea. Suprisingly it was Tensa that was bickering instead of Shiro. He was too busy laughing his ass off."

Kisuke snorted in amusement. "Well what you and Tensa call bickering everyone else calls brawls. What was he upset about."

Ichigo's head thumped back on the railing as he flung it back onto it to look at the sky with a blank stare. "Who knows." Then winced as the residents in his head started yelling again.

Kisuke chuckled. "Just to warn you, we should be landing at an island in an hour or so."

Ichigo just blinked before grunting. "Good. We need food." He paused before a slightly astonished and disbelieving tone entered his voice. "You'd think that when they prepared the ship they would have thought about stocking us with food. At least a day's worth."

Kisuke nodded. "It is an unusual lapse of forethought." He added offhandedly before both fell quiet and waited as they drifted towards the island that would finally give them the first food they had in at least a week.

\--(xXx)--

The boat jolted as it hit harbor and immediately Ichigo hopped off of his position on the edge of the railing and onto the dock to start tying the boat so it would stay where they put it. Kisuke grabbed the small pouch of money that had been given to them from inside the small cabin and went out to join Ichigo on the dock.

He observed the people milling about the harbor going about their daily business, some even glancing their way in an unabashed curiosity.

Once Ichigo finished and stood they started walking off and away from the dock together without a word spoken between them.

They soon hit the main part of the small town and Kisuke glanced around at the shops in short of much else to do. Ichigo on the other hand was adamantly reading the signs on each of the builds looking for one that sounded like they carried food.

His eyes landing on a small building and stayed their once he read it's name. He tapped Kisuke's shoulder to gain his attention. "How about that place. Party Bar and Grill. Sounds like someplace we could get some food."

"Why not." Kisuke spoke as he followed Ichigo who had started walking even before he finished talking.

The door opened with a slight creak as they walked in and almost as soon as the door shut the volume that had been in the bar had seemed to drop several notches.

Ichigo knew it probably was because of how strange they more than likely looked in the clothes they were in.

Ichigo had on his shinigami uniform pants on his legs and the bamboo sandals on his feet. Around his waist was the remnants of a shredded and torn captains haori wrapped around his waist like a sash, or belt, and hanging beside his leg.

He wore a low cut black shirt that showed some of the strap like tattoos on his chest and neck, a result from Zangetsu, with a tan open jacket over it that had the sleeves rolled up halfway up his forearms showing the tattoos from Zangetsu on his arms as well. Zangetsu's red cord around his torso holding both swords, the one on his back and one at his side. Both blades were wrapped in their protective white cloth and secured tightly to his person.

Kisuke was in his usual dark green wear, but no longer wore the jacket that went with it and instead wore a tattered tan cloak, the same bamboo sandals Ichigo wore, and his green and white striped bucket hat. An orange cloth with two red cords around it was tied tightly around his wrist, and his sword was strapped to his side.

They felt eyes following their movements as they walked to the bar and sat down. The woman behind the counter turned around pulling herself away from the glasses she was cleaning. She had a smile on her face but it immediately turned tense when she saw there faces and realized she didn't recognize them.

Both men didn't fail to notice how suddenly she became nervous and tense.

"Hi. I'm Kisuke and this is Ichigo. Is it possible to get a meal here?" Kisuke was the one to broach the hesitant brief silence that had fallen on the three with his purposefully innocent question.

She seemed to snap herself out of a slight daze. "O-" she stopped herself and cleared her throat. "Of course. One moment. Please." She quickly retreated back into another room through a door behind the counter.

Kisuke blinked and both men shot each other a glance. That woman was scared of them for some reason.

A throat cleared behind them and they turned to see a rather old man with a graying beard, oval shaped glasses, and a green,red, and yellow stripped beanie shaped hat. He also had a slight nervous look on his face but, the two could tell, he was actively trying to push it down and look confident in front of them.

"Excuse me for sounding brash, but what is your business here?" It was a question that the man was forcing out in a demanding way, even if he didn't quite get it fully to sound like it the insinuation wasn't lost on the two shinigami.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow before the thought crossed his mind that this man must have some part in running the village...or protecting it but he seriously doubted it.

Kisuke was the one to pipe up, like always. "Well right this moment our main concern is food. But if it's a possibility we'd like information." Ichigo recognized the man's tactic as one he used to try in life someone into a conversation that he'd be able to get the most context out of.

The older man, still standing beside them, blinked as if he honestly didn't expect that answer and sat down at one of the empty seats at the bar, still eyeing them suspiciously but not with as much hostility as before.

"What kind of information?" He hesitantly asked.

Kisuke smirked slightly at succeeding and opened his mouth to answer. "Well-" he cut himself off as the barmaid came out from the back with two plates of freshly cooked food, immediately drawing the half starved duo's attention.

She placed them in front of them and smiled. Her nervousness had decreased some but it was still there on her face. "I home you enjoy!" She chirped before stepping back and after a moment picking up another glass to clean it.

Ichigo immediately started to dig into his, while Kisuke had the thought and initiative to turn towards the man he had been speaking to and offer up an apology. "I'm sorry, but do you mind if we talked in a little bit. We really need some questions answered but neither of us have eaten in little over a week. Do you mind waiting?"

The man adopted a astonished look on his face and nodded, which Kisuke took as acceptance and immediately started eating. He felt the man beside his rake his eyes over him and then he felt them move off of him, he glanced at Ichigo's hand when he saw it twitch slightly. A instinctive reflex that let him know the man had turned his eyes to Ichigo.

He moved his knee slightly over to, unnoticeably, lean it against Ichigo's when he noticed the man's attention still hadn't left the other.

Ichigo's hand unclenched from the fist it had started to form while he steadily ate with the other. Kisuke, seeing that Ichigo had started to calm, went back to his meal.

That could have ended up badly. Ever since the wars Ichigo hadn't liked to be stared at by anyone he didn't consider friends or family too long. Otherwise he got...twitchy...and most the time the Hollow side of his zanpakuto got involved. It usually ended in a panic attack induced rampage...

The the man was still staring.

He couldn't blame him at least but he mentally sighed in relief when he felt the man's eyes turn back to the blonde. The man didn't know what he just unknowingly almost caused.

Once the two had their fill the woman placed two large glasses of water in front of them and both accepted it gratefully sending her a grateful glance, which she caught and smiled back. Some tension easing from her shoulders.

Kisuke turned back to the man beside him, who was sipping his own glass of what looked like beer.

"So can you answer some questions for us?"

"That depends, what kind of questions?" The man grumbled. "And what's your name?" He spat that part out.

Kisuke had just realized he hadn't introduced them yet. "My name is Kisuke and this Ichigo."

The man grunted. "I'm Mayor Wood Slap." That raised an eyebrow on both of them but they didn't say a word.

"Well it's nice to meet you. Are questions are pretty basic. Nothing big just about common knowledge." Kisuke scratched the back of his head. Honestly he felt kind of embarrassed at how the questions they had to ask for Soul Society sounds so uninformed. Especially since it was common knowledge for everyone else.

"Basic.." Wood Slap trailed off. 'Exactly how basic...' he thought. Weirdly these two men that had entered the bar felt different. Their presence did. It was weird, but he was no expert of every single thing in the world. Especially the Grand Line. It briefly crossed his mind that these men might be from the other side of the red line, but he brushed that thought off. There was no way.

"Mm yes. Embarrassingly enough we don't actually know much about.. well anything in fact." Kisuke sent a light glare at the bar in front of him.

Wood Slap snorted and put himself in a more comfortable position as he snorted. "Well ask away."

Seeing Kisuke still glaring at the flat surface in front of him Ichigo took over for the ex-shopkeeper. "Well what sea are we in?"

Wood Slap blinked before once again gaining an astonished look on his face. "HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT!?!"

Kisuke grimaced at his yell before speaking again. "Our family has lived on an isolated island for several generations. No one was taught about the world outside the island. It's one of the reasons we left there."

The woman behind the bar suddenly spoke. "What kind of island is that? I've never heard of one like that."

Kisuke and Ichigo shared a look. Time to spin more half lies. "Do you know of an island that has a really tall stone with names on it, but is otherwise barren land."

Her eyes grew slightly wide and she yelled. "You mean your from Memorial Island!!!"

Ichigo grimaced and nodded to her. He went to open his mouth to speak but she cut him off. "How could your family have lived there?! It's said no one can stand being there more than a couple of hours."

Kisuke blinked. They actually hadn't thought of an answer to that question. He shrugged. "We don't know why, we just have."

She blinked astonished before turning towards the Mayor who had frozen and had yet to move. She sighed and turned back to the two.

"I'm Makino by the way. Your just northeast of East Blue in Foosha village apart of the Goa Kingdom."

Kisuke nodded and filled the information away in his mind, before suddenly launching into a long discussion between the suddenly unnervous and now talkative raven haired woman, which Ichigo silently observed and listened.

Wood Slap sitting next to them watching the two travelers and Makino

X --(xXx)-- X

Several hours later the sun started to set and the bar had started to clear out. Makino and Kisuke had talked the whole time while she answered any and every question she could even telling them things they didn't even know about to ask.

Kisuke and Ichigo shared a look and stood. Kisuke held out a hand in front of the woman. "I would like to thank you very much Miss Makino. You've really helped us."

She smiled as she took his hand and shook it. "It really is no problem. It was surprisingly fun."

Kisuke sent her a small smile and let his hand fall back to his side. "Well we really should be going we have one more stop to make before we leave Foosha. Thank you again." He spoke as he turned away and walked out of the bar.

Ichigo followed but stopped at the door looking over his shoulder and smiling slightly in a mischievous way. "Good luck with your child. He's really gonna be a handful. Stay safe Miss."

He turned and left before she can say anything leaving her with a stunned look on her face. At the bar Wood Slap sat with the same wide eyes before slowly turning toward Makino.

"Makino. Have you not told me something?"

Makino grew sheepish. "Umm...I... I do actually."


	6. AN:PLEASE READ

A/N:

PLEASE READ!!

I know these can get annoying but I wanted to answer some of the comments while I'm still working on the next chapter. So here we are.

I know Makino probably wasn't pregnant this early, but I'm more than likely not gonna have her in any future chapters and I wanted to have a scene where Ichigo reveals her pregnancy to Wood Slap mischievously while also wishing her luck with her baby. So, hence, the small scene at the end in the previous chapter.

Thank you to everyone who commented information about Ichigo's swords! All of it really helped me!

Also I'm really trying not to have an OverPowered/godlike!Ichigo. I'm starting their adventure in the One Piece world kind of early in the OP manga, (if that makes any since), and Ichigo or Kisuke being overpowered where they can practically end any fight pretty quickly just isn't practical. Plus they just got through fighting in two wars, you can expect some handicaps in strength and powers.

And some of my replies to the comments.

Uzumaki Rin: I didnt even notice I had been spelling his name wrong in the first couple chapters. Whoops. Thank you for pointing it out! Maybe I can fix it soon.

Guest/Wren: oh this story is defiantly gonna be continued. I have big plans for this story and I'm no way is it gonna be abandoned early. And I'm glad to know, at least the idea of the wars being more realistic and the trauma from those wars being more noticeable, or acknowledged went over well with, at least, some one.

Guest/Anon: Me either. Thank you for liking my story!

Guest: Thank you!!

Ean Sovukau: Thank you for reading!!

Kyrianae Narii: thank you for reading and loving my story! I look forward to whatever adventures they have in the OP world as well. And there are other stories like this!? I didn't know about that. I've never seen any of the stories where Ichigo didn't come from another world and was sent there by, like Aizen or something. I don't think I've read any where Kisuke is involved in sending him there either. I'm glad your looking forward to it! I'm sorry about the odd phrasing. I never even noticed it, and about Ichigo's Hollow's name slip up. I accidentally called him Shiro because that's what I generally call his Hollow instead of Hollow Ichigo, dark Ichigo, or Oghichi. But I didn't want to use the cliche Hollow names because I wanted to represent that Kuro is apart of Zangetsu just like Tensa. Yea I feel sad for Kisuke too, and funny thing is I'm still working out how he is gonna fight and his characteristics as well. FYI Kisuke is gonna be kinda tortured emotionally in this. I don't know why it's just how it worked out. Though most of it will have happened during the war and he will be slowly healed throughout the fanfic. Strangely Kisukes backstory for this fic has put itself together quickly and was easy. Now I'm kinda struggling just a tad with Ichigo's but I have a basic idea. Yea I can see the empathy from Ichigo for Kisuke, I actually didn't think of that till you mentioned it. Thanks!

Thank you so much for the comment about the character interactions! I was so worried about it!!! I love that you love it!! And thank you so much for the info about the swords it really helped!!

NolifeKing222: thank you so much for the info on the blades!! It really helped too!! Sadly Benihime had to be broken.

Aussiepsycho: Well I'm glad you like it!! Thank you!!

Guest/Rob: No I didn't mean in a sealed form because I know very well that Ichigo can't seal his swords. Mainly I was looking for the info so that the others who see the swords might have something to call it/compare it to/think they know what kind of blade it is/identify, though Ichigo's blades they'll just think are a mutated version because let's be honest there is no blade in the world that matches Ichigo's... but thank you so much for the info. It also really helped!!


	7. 5) Love Runs Out

Love Runs Out

5

Sorry for the lateness. Also this might be kind of a filler chap because I honestly didn't know what to do here. The next chap is going to be awesome and a bit long. But please read this it has more info about the war but has more on Ichigo this time than Kisuke. I hope I did well with Kuro and please remember I'm trying to be a bit more realistic and the wars are longer. Also watching the anime and reading the manga for bleach I've always felt like there was more to Shiro/Kuro than was portrayed, that he was extremely underrated and that he felt more towards Ichigo than just wanting to be the one in control. And I guess my suspicions were semi right because he became half of Ichigo's Zanpokuto.

\--(xXx)--

The two shinigami separated and went to complete two different jobs they had decided upon previously, before they had docked at the island.

Kisuke went to gather some maps of the world, if they even had any on this little island, only to discover that there was exactly one map in the entire town. And it wasn't even a complete map. It depicted only the East Blue Sea. The guy that had it even tried to overprice the ex-shopkeeper, but Kisuke hadn't been fooled and walked out of the shop not giving the store owner a dime, while unbeknownst to the scam artist of a store owner, Kisuke had slipped the map into his clothes. Effectively stealing it.

Kisuke mentally laughed at the irony, he ignored that his mental laugh sounded hollow, as he made his way back to the small ship he and Ichigo would leave in.

Ichigo went to get them some food to take with them. Ichigo knew Kisuke had purposefully told him to do this job because it was a more social one. He was not social. His face was in a constant impassive frown, that very little found friendly. He knew this was Kisuke's way of mischief. But he bore it. Because at least Kisuke was causing some chaos again, no matter how little, after not doing so for several years now. He also didn't like this idea because neither of them liked to be social to strangers lately.

Ichigo was disappointed though. He ended up going back to the ship with only enough food to last them three days.

It wasn't that he couldn't have paid for more but that there wasn't much food actually there to sell, and he didn't want to clear out the shipowners who looked like they were struggling enough.

Ichigo walked to the docks with the small amount of food he had. He saw Kisuke ahead of him already on the boat and getting it ready to leave.

They didn't stay long.

\--(xXx)--

Ichigo and Kisuke had left Dawn Island three days ago. They were out of food, had only one unfinished map of East Blue, and were hungry.

They were also on opposite sides of the ship from each other. Not because of anger or tension or anything, but because they were both doing there own thing.

Kisuke had one of his notebooks out and was intently focused on whatever it was he was writing, and Ichigo was sitting on the deck with both halves of Zangetsu in his lap. As he stared at them he was remembering, alongside his partners, about the war and the period of time before where he had lost them.

To be honest, before the Quincy war, he had subconsciously had a suspicion of Kuro, or Shiro as he had called him during Aizen's war, being more than just his Hollow. And there had been some proof.

When Muramasa had taken Zangetsu and entered his enter world to fight Kuro there had been some things that raised suspicion. The fact that Kuro had been brung to the surface when the old man was taken was one thing. The only reason Kuro wasn't was because Muramasa only aimed to pull out one being not two.

When Kuro protected him, even though he refused to admit that, instead of immediately trying to consume Ichigo.

The only reason Muramasa's power didn't work on Kuro was because their relationship, Ichigo's and Kuro's, to each other was so messed up at the time that Kuro, with his Hollow side's instincts, already acted out his desires and darker instincts of a lust for battle.

Ichigo is a little ashamed to admit that there was signs he should have noticed when either of them talked to each other that he ended up ignoring. Even feelings he had himself about Kuro that were ignored. Like the protectiveness he felt towards him, it had always been the same as his protectiveness for Tensa.

Then there was their reitsu. When Ichigo fought Old Man Zangetsu, his manifested Zanpokuto's reitsu was pale blue. But Kuro's had always been a red so dark it looked black. The same as his Bankai form, even if his reitsu in bankai didn't feel like a Hollow. It was still some of Kuro's.

When Zangetsu had broken both Kuro and the Old Man had gone silent. When he checked on them in his inner world, while his sword was still broken, both spirits had been unconscious and were bleeding from cuts all over their body. It really should have been obvious then, and Ichigo even wanted to ask Kuro for the truth, but he had no idea how. Besides the spirit had been unconscious and wouldn't have woken up anyways.

So he had left his inner world and not long after the Royal Guard had come. Both the old man and Kuro had stayed unconscious for the duration of the reforging, but when he called on his true blade Kuro had woken with a deep gasp before groaning, falling back against the skyscraper under him, and sinking into the building as he fell asleep, more cuts appearing on his body.

The old man didn't do anything like that and had simply faded before disappearing completely.

When his blades were forged and the water had been thrown on them to cool Ichigo forcefully zoned out for a moment towards his inner world.

Both Kuro and Tensa had risen from inside the skyscraper, like it was water, backs facing each other, cuts healed, and eyes closed. When he had grabbed the handles of his blades their eyes had snapped open.

After the first fight between the Quincy and Ichigo with his new blades, and the enemies had been pushed back for a day or so, he had isolated himself from the other Shinigami and entered his inner world.

Ichigo and Kuro had just stared at each other for the longest time. Kuro's face no longer twisted in an angry, smug glare or sneer and instead replaced with hesitance and guilt, probably even slight worry.

Ichigo had been the first to break their silence and Kuro had tensed when Ichigo opened his mouth, which he later found out was because Kuro had thought that as soon as he could Ichigo would go back to hating him and trying to chain him back down in the deepest darkest parts of his soul. He didn't blame Ichigo for doing that either. He hadn't been exactly unhostile when he woke to find Ichigo ignoring him and instead using the old man when his power was first regained by Kisuke's help.

So he should blame Ichigo when he was mistaken as a Hollow and when Ichigo was told the solution was to suppress him. His wielder had taken it as truth.

He had screamed and screamed trying to fix the mistake. He had been hurt and angry and had felt betrayed, so he took it out on Ichigo. It had been wrong, but he didn't care to fix it, up until that point. Up until the point came where it looked like Ichigo would chain him in the depths of his soul forever.

He didn't blame Kisuke or the Visored either, though he did a little, but not for everything, because they hadn't exactly been wrong. He was a Hollow but not exactly, he acted like a Hollow because he had some of the instincts of one, he was only made as a Hollow because Ichigo was part Hollow himself so it manifested as him. As Kuro.

His screams had gone unanswered because at that point him and Ichigo had such a bad relationship towards each other, from Ichigo hate and slight fear and from Kuro betrayal, anger, and bitterness, that Ichigo couldn't hear him.

And then he was chained, and always just used as a power source, and it was too late.

But then Zangetsu was reformed in their true form, and the chains were gone and he finally had his chance to fix the mistake.

But when Ichigo had a chance to come to his inner world and talk to him, he had been at a loss for words, and yet so scared that if he didn't explain first he wouldn't get a chance before Ichigo used those sickly burning chains again to make him disappear.

So it wasn't a surprise that when Ichigo opened his mouth, the first thing he expected was something of hate.

Instead Ichigo only asked if there was a name other than Zangetsu he had in mind to be called. Since he was gonna call the old man, Tensa now.

Too stunned to actually make his mouth work he just numbly shook his head and Ichigo had smiled a half smile and said 'How about I name you Kuro.'

Kuro would deny it to the day he died, but that was the first and last time he ever cried.

Ichigo's eyes had slightly widened when he saw the black tears run down his Zanpokuto spirit's face, before understanding hit him and he smiled a sad smile. He was so sorry to Kuro he could never apologize enough.

Though it stunned him when Kuro had used his heightened speed to get to him quicker before his chest was covered by the Spirit. Kuro had buried his head under Ichigo's chin and his arms wrapped around his back in a vise grip. He didn't let out a sound, but the wetness Ichigo could feel through his clothes near Kuro's head and the spirit's slightly trembling shoulders gave him away.

Ichigo had just rested his chin on the head of white and wrapped his own arms around his sword's spirit.

He had noted absentmindedly while he stood there that some changes had been made to Kuro as well. He had already seen the changes on Tensa but only now did he notice Kuro's fully.

Kuro had become shorter and although he still had strength wrapped in his body in layers, and was still visible, his stature had become slighter and more built for speed than before. But he didn't doubt that Kuro was just as strong physically as he was before.

Both Ichigo and Kuro had put in a great effort to form a strong relationship between them and since then they had succeeded and maybe even had a stronger relationship than he had with the old man before. Though he didn't ignore Tensa and they had bonded just as much as well.

Though it had annoyed the three of them greatly when they had discovered that Ichigo had to relearn how to use their techniques because how they called upon them before to summon them into use just didn't work anymore. What Ichigo was used to, didn't work.

For several battles and in between, during the war had been spent either training them in downtime or Ichigo being instructed step by step how to do them in the heat of battle.

They still hadn't even unlocked Bankai, but had made the Quincy King think they did, by achieving a partial Bankai and having the help of Aizen, before he was killed, with his illusions.

He still had to constantly train to learn the new way to use his techniques to their full capacity. They had figured they could just relearn the techniques together, because really all three of them were having to relearn them, before putting more power behind it.

He was brung out of his thoughts when there was the, very faint, sound of a bang in the distance. It wasn't loud enough for human ears to hear but that didn't include his Hollow Zanpokuto spirit who had come to the surface and comfortably sat next to his consciousness in Ichigo's body.

 _'King._ ' That caught Ichigo's attention and he pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked up across the ocean. He had told Kuro many times not to call him that, but Kuro refused to stop. Something about it felt natural, but Ichigo secretly thought that to Kuro the name King for Ichigo was similar to a nickname or what the name 'Kuro' was to the Hollow spirit.

 _'Yea?'_ Was his reply. And he felt Kuro shift before falling back into his inner world.

 _'It just sounded like there was a gunshot from a really big gun in the direction we're heading.'_

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. _'Really. Well we've got nowhere else planned to go.'_ At his reply Kuro roared in laughter.

Ichigo stood and rechecked the boats steering and direction before calling to Kisuke. "Oi. Kisuke. Kuro heard a gunshot coming from the direction we're going. Figured no better place to go."

He heard a hummed acknowledgement and he chuckled. Kisuke was absorbed in his work. He knew the blonde had heard him but wasn't going to make an effort to stop his thought process long enough to reply.

That's fine.

They'd make it there, eventually.

And hopefully they'd have food.


	8. 6) Here's To Never Growing Up

Here's To Never Growing Up

6

Oh yea this will have yaoi in it. But nothing explicit besides maybe a few kisses and light touches. But this story also isn't going to focus only on it. The romance will be more of a side thing. I had planned this from the start and I honestly don't know why I hadn't mentioned it before. It will also have hetro couples in it too that I'll also focus on so don't worry that this fic is going to turn into a fic where everyone is gay, which I have no problem with, and the plot of the story practically disappears. Hope you still stay for the story.

\--(xXx)--

There had been some information on the marines in the files back at the Soul Society. And suprisingly, or maybe not that much, the shinigami hated them. Hated what they did. Thought of them as nothing but corrupt.

Most souls in Hell actually registered as previous Marines, when the wall was broken down and the seal that had hidden the files disappeared several of the souls pulled into Hell where listed as Marines.

Despite all this Ichigo wasn't going to judge them from someone else's viewpoint like that, not yet at least.

But it still wasn't surprising that when a Marine ship encountered them both his and Kisuke's first response was to tense for a fight, started by them.

And it was evidently a well founded instinct because not a moment later the marines attacked them shouting something about them being a stupid pirate crew with only two members and therefore easy targets.

Kisuke and Ichigo had just looked at each other before disappearing in a step of shunpo. They weren't going to do much, maybe cause mischief and get them to go away, but that changed when they started to fire upon their smaller ship. Actually damaging it in several places. Both shinigami had had enough at that point and had wailed into them.

They weren't much of a challenge though. This ship was full of lower ranked soldiers, not even a petty officer on board. They were likely going to be someone's backup. Oh well.

By the time the fight was over all of the marines on the ship were knocked out and bleeding profusely. They left only a handful well enough to maneuver the marine ship and pilfered it, they had been looking for food but there wasn't any extra besides what little rations the marines had for a day and Kisuke decided to take the money as pay back for damaging their ship, before they jumped back on their little, now damaged, ship and sailed away from them in the direction they had first been heading in.

\--(xXx)--

It had taken them another hour before they had come across a ship that was built like a fish, had a hole in the top edge, and had a sign that read the Baratie Restaurant on the side.

Kisuke smirked. "Well I guess we lucked out!' He chirped before turning to grab ahold of the money bag he had modified.

Ichigo grunted before glancing down at his clothes and then over to Kisuke's and grimacing. "Maybe. Maybe not. Depends if they decide to kick us out or not for looking like we do."

Kisuke glanced back at the orange haired teen before glancing down at himself. He blanched as he realized Ichigo's reasoning behind his statement. Though they hadn't killed any of the Marines, they did make them bleed. And Blood has a bad habit of getting everywhere.

So both Ichigo and Kisuke were covered in it.

There clothes were now permanently tented red and several places on their skin was dotted in the substance. Feeling part of the skin on his face start to pull Kisuke reached up and touched his cheek, pulling his fingers away he looked at the almost dry flakes of blood and pressed his lips together.

Places in their hair were clumped together from the blood as well and he sighed.

He could get them some new clothes and put them on, but the blood on their skin and hair would take hours to get, all of it, off. Hours they didn't have. Someone would surely notice their little boat and get suspicious if no one came off of it for such a long period of time.

Ichigo scratched at a place on his arm where a patch of blood had dried. He honestly is a little worried that neither of them had noticed the blood until now. He guessed they just got too used to seeing themselves and allies covered in the fluid, to readily notice it and be bothered by it.

But he knew. Just like always at the end of the day, when night fell and they'd start to relax and get tired, one of two reactions would seize both of them just like it always had since the way. An obsessive cleaning of the skin to the point where their whole bodies where raw, or the panic attack.

He heard Kisuke sigh and Ichigo turned back towards him as he started to walk towards the edge of the boat, next to Ichigo, where they were docked next to two other ships. "Well there is nothing we can do about it now."

Ichigo grunted and turned back to the Baratie before stepping off their boat and onto the floating restaurant. Kisuke trailing behind him.

They could hear laughter and conversations coming from inside and slight smiles graced their faces. The feel of this place, even the atmosphere was so lighthearted.

Ichigo go to the entrance and pushed the door open with a creak. He took two steps in and a hushed silence overtook the others their, making the smiles that were on their faces, more of a twitch of the lips really, to disappear fully.

A blonde waiter in a black, double breasted suit stood amongst the tables. He was smoking and eyeing them calculatingly.

The waiter was the one to break the silence. "What's your business here?" It wasn't a question, even if it was posed as one. That was a demand. Though they didn't take offense. He most likely was just trying to protect the ship and its costumers.

Kisuke, the more social of the two, and honestly the one who could place a fake cheer on his face that's more believing than Ichigo, stepped out from his half covered position that Ichigo seemed to always instinctively place them in and responded with his ever present false cheer. "We're just here for some food. We have enough to pay."

The blonde regarded them for a moment before smiling just enough to seem polite. "We'll find a seat. You seat yourself here." He then turned and continued to wait on the other costumers as they all went back to their own business, even if they sent the two shinigami wary glances every now and then.

Kisuke glanced back at Ichigo, a little smug, who just rolled his eyes before they sat themselves down at one of the smaller tables.

It didn't take the blonde long to make it to them, he stopped and helped some of the other tables as he came, and ask them what they wanted. They had answered with 'water and they weren't picky. They just wanted something that tasted good and was filling.'

The blonde smirked. "I think I have something in mind." He turned and walked to where they assumed the kitchen doors were.

Not too long later their food was brung out along with two large beer glasses full of water. The blonde smirked as they started to eat and their expressions changed just the slightest bit to show their amazement. He walked off to cater to the other tables with an honest 'Enjoy' thrown over his shoulder.

Of they would.

Ichigo would, occasionally, track the blonde with his eyes. As he did he noticed several things, but out of all of it he noticed most of all that there was just something not right about the teen who looked no older than himself.

First of all there was no way the guy was just a waiter. A chef? Deffinety. A chef with probably some authority here? Probably.

His eyes went back to Kisuke to see the man was looking at him with the same question in his eyes. Yea. There was something off about him.

Kisuke's eyes lit up sightly and he mouthed across the table to Ichigo two simple words. 'Heightened Reitsu'. And with that the questions cleared.

The man had experienced a near death situation, lived through it, and thrived. Subconsciously using reitsu in his daily life.

Kisuke had predicted this when they were only several days into their journey. This world they knew nothing about was based in the same place the Soul Society was. Therefore there was a lot more reitsu in the air, even if it was in minuscule amounts, than Karakura town and the ones using it here wouldn't have to be dead to use their energy, even if it wasn't the proper way or to the full extent.

But this development proved Kisuke's theory correct. Reitsu wasn't just the energy of the dead or shinigami. It was a force of will. It was a persons strength manifested, even if they didn't know they had it, into a tangible substance. It was someone's life force.

And all someone needed to do to unlock it was go through enough suffering that they almost die and then rise, like a Phoenix from the ashes, and thrive.

The two shinigami smiled slightly to each other. This was going to be interesting.


	9. 7) Complicated

Complicated

7

This is kind of short. But the next chapter is halfway done so I figured I could go ahead and post this. And no Ichigo and Kisuke aren't going to be in a couple. Also I'm not going to reveal the couple just yet! Surprise!!

\--(xXx)--

"Oi!! Waiter!"

Ichigo glanced up, and looked towards where the load voice had come from.

It was from an obnoxious man several tables away, that he had overheard previously bragging about how he was some big shot marine, to try to impress the woman sitting across from him.

He snorted and went back to his meal listening to the events that would no doubt come next.

"I told you I'm not a waiter." Came the voice of the blonde, that had served them earlier, before he then proceeded to flirt with the woman sitting with the marine.

"HEY!" The marine was insistent on ruining someone's hearing. "Is it normal for this restaurant to serve insects with the soup?!" Ichigo's eyes flashed up at that, and there was indeed a fly inside the man's soup. _'But he honestly couldn't try to lay blame on the restaurant for that could he-'_ his thought process was cut off and instead changed to anger.

A brief smug grin flashed across the Marine's face. He understood now. It was a set up.

Dark amber eyes glanced to the blonde chef standing at the marine's table, and he noted with some satisfaction, that the blonde had caught the smug look as well.

"WHATS THIS DAMN BUG IN MY SOUP!?" Yep totally wanting to hurt ears. Maybe Ichigo should just start calling him banshee in his head...nope. That nickname was exclusive to someone else already.

The blonde chef smiled. "I'm sorry sir. But I do not know. I'm not very knowledgeable in the types of insects that exist around here. -" he had to stop because he said it so nonchalantly that the entire room burst out into sniggers and laughs. Even Ichigo snorted himself as he watched an amused, mischievous grin stretch across Kisuke's face. One that, once upon a time, was always covered by a paper fan.

Ichigo's eyes glanced back over in time to see a dark look take over the marine's face. The woman let out a screech and shoved her chair away from the table as her companion used a modified pair of brass knuckles to break it in half. Sending plates and food to the floor with a clatter as they broke and spilt everywhere.

"Seems like you have no idea who you are messing with." The marine spoke with a glare pointed at the blonde, but the man wasn't even paying any attention to the marine and instead had a dark look of his own on his face as he looked down at the wasted food.

No one was laughing anymore.

"Now, now sir. Can't you eat the soup of the big is taken out?" The blonde's voice sounded calm but the shinigami in the room, and probably some others, could hear the underlying anger.

"Wha- WHY YOU! IM A PAYING COSTUMER For a chef aren't you full of yourself?!!" He looked enraged and pulled his fist back for a punch at the chef.

"No! Fullbody!" The woman at the side yelled raising a hand towards him. Fullbody. So that's his name.

"Then can you eat money?" The chef responded to Fullbody a rearranged anger in his voice and a glare in his eyes.

Some chefs from the kitchen who had come out a minute ago to see what all the noise was about suddenly yelled. "AGh! We got to stop Sanji!" So that's the name of the blonde.

The fight only lasted a few minutes and no one moved. Ichigo was unabashedly watching with his head leaning against his arm, propped up on the table. The orange haired shinigami steadily ignored the roaring laughter and cheers meant for Sanji echoing in his head, from a certain Hollow.

Kisuke watched the fight out of the corner of his eye before turning back to his meal. They already had known who would win, Sanji had at least some reitsu, even if he wasn't calling it all up at the moment, where as Fullbody had none. The only way the blonde would have lost, would be if he threw the fight.

Sanji held the now bloody Fullbody up by his neck. Still smoking with his other hand in his pocket. "You'd do well to remember. Going against a cook on the sea is the same as suicide. Don't you ever dare to waste food." With that he glared viciously. Ichigo and Kisuke's eyes stared at the blonde for a moment before the glanced at each other. That had learnt that lesson too well before. War does that to people. Tends to integrate lessons into a person's physique pretty quickly.


	10. 8) Faded

Faded

8

These couple of chapters have been a pain to write.

\--(xXx)--

Suddenly another waiter came out and started yelling.

"SANJI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!! That man's a customer! And a marine lieutenant!" Sanji glanced over at the man.

"Oh it's just you shitty cook." That man's a cook!? "Don't say my name like that."

"You've got no right to call me Shitty cook. Shitty cook! Besides we're supposed to serve the costumers," Sanji tossed the man to the floor as the other cook got closer to them. Fullbody scrambled backwards some and hunched over. "How are you supposed to explain injuring a costumer!?"

Sanji grit his teeth. "What does it matter if he's a costumer? He insulted a cook and wasted food, I was only giving him what he deserved."

Fullbody started ranting about how he'd report the restaurant and that got Sanji mad to the point where the other chefs were holding him back. Kisuke lost interest after that and continued to eat his own food. Ichigo snorted and picked up his water.

His eyes darted back over and towards the ceiling when he heard an ominous cracking.

He watched as suddenly two people fell through the ceiling and right in the middle of all the commotion.

One of them was an old man with a braided beard and a peg leg who, from listening to the yelling and conversations that proceeded, had done the damage to cause them to fall through the ceiling and was the owner of the Baratie.

The old man proceeded to yell at both Sanji, Fullbody and the other chefs around him.

But both Kisuke and Ichigo weren't paying any attention to the head chef. Instead they were both openly starring at the teen who had fell through the ceiling with him.

He wasn't much to look at if you took him for face value, but both shinigami could feel the energy that most others couldn't. They could feel the kid's strength, his will to live.

It was the strongest they had felt since leaving. The strongest they felt that wasn't drenched with intentions so dark it physically hurt to be around.

They looked at each other before letting their eyes slide back to the teen. His energy felt so..bright.

It was very...endearing.

They'd have to keep an eye on this kid.

Kisuke watched as Zeff, the head chef apparently, kicked Fullbody for blowing a hole in his restaurant (Something he really didn't care to get the whole story about) and continued to berate his chefs.

Ichigo and Kisuke's eyes both snapped to the door a moment before it blew open. A young shouting marine yelling out. " Lieutenant! We have an emergency!!"

Ichigo's eyes sharpened as he noticed the marine's blood covered face. He looked scared.

The two Shinigami might not have had the best first impressions of the marine's, but they both had to admit...the marine's were human too.

"Forgive me sir, but he escaped from prison!" The marine was still frantic.

Ichigo's ear twitched when he heard the teen from earlier mumble something, but his eyes didn't leave the marine still in the doorway. Shiro was silently taking deep breaths in his head, trying to locate the threat they could both feel tingling the edge of their instincts.

Fullbody started yelling at his subordinate, and from their conversation Kisuke gathered the needed information. A strong pirate that they had had in custody had escaped.

Well this wasn't going to be good. Kisuke breathed a sigh through his nose, ignoring the suddenly loud and frantic yells from the other customers, before flicking his eyes up to Ichigo's face.

Ichigo was deadly focused on his surroundings. Kisuke zeroed in onto the other's flaring nostrils, and he tended at the sight.

That was a clear sign that Ichigo felt a real threat coming. The orange haired shinigami, was trying to locate it.

Ichigo suddenly shot up from his chair and used his flash step to grab hold of the marine in the doorway before yanking him aside, just in time too, because right as he moved a bullet cut through the air and just barely missed Ichigo's cheek. It had been so close he felt the heat from the projectile as it passed, before it continued on its path and embedded itself into the opposite wall from the door.

Ichigo and the marine landed hard to the ground, but it only took a second before the shinigami was up again, facing toward the doorway. Staring at the silhouette that had fired the bullet.

The others inside the Baratie kept turning their heads back and forth between where the marine had stood, to the would be murderer of said marine, to where Ichigo now stood protectively in front of the same marine, who was shaking and paler than snow.

Zeff glared. Why had today turned out like this?!

Sanji's eyebrows were furrowed. He was confused. What had just happened?

Luffy, on the other hand, had stars in his eyes.

Kisuke just shook his head exasperatedly, but his eyes held a proud gleam.

He had a feeling their lives were just about to get a lot more hectic.


	11. Please Help

Hello everyone. Sorry not an update, but I've gotten ticked off so I'm taking matters into my own hands.

I need a Beta writer desperately.

I had an offer several months to a year ago, and I regret immensely turning them down. The only reason I did was because I was scared. I was scared because I had a 'kinda' Beta before and they stole one of my stories and posted it on their own account. It blew up into this huge huge conflict because I tried to claim it back. When the site it was posted on got involved, I got accused of attempted theft. Which was ridiculous, because I even sent the site screenshots of all of our conversations that proved I was the original writer.

I still was accused and I was given the ultimatum of handing over the chapters I 'stole' in other words the chapters I had written and hadn't sent to the thief yet or be kicked off of the site that I had been using for 5 years and at the time had my only copies of my stories on it.

I did the logical thing. I handed it over.

I feel as if I got the last laugh though because some of my more loyal followers noticed and went to town hating on the story that the thief tried to continue to write. And I did go back and read it, it ended up being really horrible and nowhere near what I had wanted to do with it but the thief was so embarrassed that he had been called out by readers, the site still didn't care, that he took it down in embarrassment.

As far as I know he left the site completely after that and I haven't seen him on any other.

But now I feel like I can trust a real Beta, and I need one desperately.

I have messaged several over PM on here but none of them have responded. It's been about a month since I started searching and I'm tired of waiting.

If you are interested please PM on this site or message me through the social networking app Kik. My username for kik is DTU16.

Please help me find someone to help me!

Also please be mindful that I've never really had a real Beta. So please forgive me if I do something wrong...

Thank you!

~D


	12. 9) Love The Way You Lie

Love The Way You Lie

9

Sorry for the long wait.

—(xXx)—

Ichigo watched, leaning casually against the wall, as the Pirate was beaten and thrown out by Patty the waiter who tried to stop Sanji from beating up the loud mouth. Ironically.

He sighed and glanced at Kisuke, still sitting at their table, who was watching with a bored expression, his head propped up against his hand.

Kisuke glanced at him and Ichigo pushed off the wall and sat back down with Kisuke as the other customers started cheering after the door slammed shut behind the pirate.

Kisuke leaned forward and lowered his voice in some semblance of privacy. "Was that the threat?"

Ichigo glanced at him through the corner of his eyes, pretending to just be casually watching the other occupants. "No. Kuro can feel it. It's bigger but it's still on its way."

Kisuke hummed and leaned back. He looked contemplative at the table for a moment before glancing up. "Guess were gonna leave sooner then?"

Ichigo grit his teeth and glanced back at the blonde cook across the room as he saw him retreat out through another door. "No. I have a feeling we can't leave yet."

Kisuke smirked half heartedly and nodded. "Alright then. What's our move?"

Ichigo finally turned to face Kisuke. "You stay here, I'll be back." He spoke as he stood. Kisuke nodded and leaned casually back in his chair. Leisurely drinking his water.

Ichigo snorted before following where he could feel the blonde.

He slowly walked around the sides of the restaurant until he could hear Sanji's voice.

"Here eat."

Ichigo leaned against the wall, recognizing the pirate's voice and then scarfing sounds.

"I don't know what to say..I've never had anything better in my life..I'm grateful!..I thought I was done for.."

He heard a snort and then Sanji's voice again, his words edged with a smile. "It's damn good isn't it!"

He smiled a little bitterly at the hardwood floor under his feet before leaning his head towards their direction, smile dropping off his face as he shoved the memories back down.

Another voice suddenly shouted, joining them. "LUCKY! You got some food~!"

There was a laugh. "Just when you were about to die too! Hey cook! Join my crew! Be the cook for my pirate ship!!"

There was a brief silence before both the starved pirate and Sanji Simultaneously made sounds of confusion.

There was a thump and then Sanji spoke again. "Wait you're that pirate that fired a cannonball into the restaurant."

"That was an accident."

"Oh! Anyways! Join my crew!"

Ichigo snorted. Persistent little brat wasn't he.

Sanji sounded more serious the next time he spoke, "I'm gonna refuse your offer. I've got my own reasons for staying here."

He heard a growl. "No! I refuse!"

"What?"

"I refuse your refusal!"

Ichigo snorted in exasperation.

"Your a good cook so we'll be pirates together!"

"At least hear me out.."

"Fine! What's your reason?"

"I'm not telling you."

He suddenly yelled. "You just told me to hear you out!!"

Sanji growled. "I meant you should hear other people's opinions when speaking! Don't make me chop you up, you damn Strawhat wearing shit head!"

"Hey! Don't insult my hat! I'll send you flying!"

The other pirate groaned before interrupting them. "Hey. Sorry for interrupting your conversation but..my names Gin. I'm a member of the Kreig pirates. You said you're a pirate too. What's your objective?"

The other spoke with a smile in his voice. "I'm going to go to the Grand Line and find One Piece!"

Gin suddenly sounded a little nervous. "Your still looking for a cook right? That means your crew isn't very big..?"

"Hmm. Him makes 5!"

Sanji suddenly sounded indignant. "Why are you counting me!?!?!"

Gin ignored Sanji's outburst and pushed through. "You don't seem like a bad guy so let me give you a bit of advice. Give up on going to the Grand Line. You're young so you still recklessly run into things. Besides if you want to be a pirate they're plenty of other seas to do it in."

"..Oh, do you know something about the Grand Line??"

"No. It's so terrifying because I don't know anything.."

He heard a snort. "For a Pirate you sure are acting like a scaredy cat."

—(xXx)—

Kisuke sighed in slight boredom as he watched his glass of water be refilled for the third time.

Eh. The waitress was starting to look seriously annoyed. He. He.

He was bored.

He twitched as he felt another elevated spiritual pressure walk in, along with two others.

His eyes immediately closed in on a green haired male with three swords at his waist and a bland expression on his face.

The teen rested his hand on his swords and slightly glanced around upon entering.

They connected eyes and held each other's gaze for a single moment before they both looked away at the same time.

Kisuke to drink from his water, and the green haired male to listen to what the other two that entered with him were saying.

Well things may have just gotten more interesting.

—(xXx)—

"Well, see ya, then."

"I'm still going to the Grand Line!"

"Haha..well your free to do what you want. It's not like I can stop that..And Sanji! Thank you so much for the food! You're my savior! It was the best I've ever had!..Would you mind if I came here to eat again."

He heard a smirk in Sanji's voice. "Of course."

Ichigo heard someone growl and the muscles in his back tensed. He shifted slightly, his clothes brushing up against the wall, the growl instantly going silent.

"Go on Gin."

"Ah."

Ichigo moved to stand behind them silently and watched the blonde cook and raven haired boy's backs as they watch Gin sail away.

He leaned up against the wall behind them and sighed, gaining their attention. Sanji whirled around to look at him and the raven haired boy stared with a strange glint in his eyes.

Ichigo spoke looking dully at Sanji unblinkingly. "You know that's going to come back to bite you."

Sanji snorted slightly unnerved. "What?"

Ichigo sighed and looked passed them towards where Gin had sailed. "Giving him food. Letting him go."

Sanji growled slightly. "Oh yea and why's that."

Ichigo looked back at him and gave him a blank stare. Wondering if the cook knew or not the possible dangers of his actions. Kuro snorted in his mind. _'Some people aren't worth extending a hand of mercy to. Shitty cook. You should know that!'_

It's not like Ichigo knew if any of those dangers would come to pass but with Kuro feeling the danger on its way, it was a possibility.

Sanji growled again. "Oi-"

He was cut off. "Errand boy! That's where you were!"

'Errand-boy' glanced up somewhere above Ichigo and started sweating. "Uh oh." He turned to Sanji. "You're gonna get in trouble."

Sanji glanced up before picking up the plate and spoon Gin had used and slinging it into the ocean. He waved his hands at the raven. "Can't get in trouble if theres no evidence."

Ichigo watched impassively and smirked slightly at Sanji's guts. Knowing for sure that the head chef was watching from above them.

He heard a growl. "Errand boy! Sanji get back to work!"

Sanji grumbled as he walked passed Ichigo, grudgingly doing as told. But the raven haired boy didn't move. Instead he stared at Ichigo, until said man looked back at him.

Luffy immediately shot forward and Ichigo leaned back instinctively even though he was already leaning against the wall. "Hi! I'm Monkey D. Luffy! Join my crew!"

Ichigo blinked. Having not expected this. "Uh- no thanks."

Luffy snorted and shook his head. "Nun Uh. You'll join."

Ichigo scrunched his eyebrows together, looking the other in the eye he decided to be a little honest with the kid. "Sorry kid but I have something to do. Besides I wouldn't just leave Kisuke behind like that."

Luffy titled his head. "Your friend."

Slightly surprised, Ichigo nodded. "My family."

A grin spilling Luffy's face. "He can come too!"

Ichigo blinked at the teen. It may be harder than he thought to get the guy to accept his refusal. He sighed. "Why do you want me to go with you anyway."

Luffy hummed before smiling wide. "You're cool! Besides you're a good person! I can tell!"

Ichigo was rendered a tad speachless, the boy spoke with so much confidence, but before he could reply the head chef, Zeff's voice sounded from above him again.

"Errand boy!!"

Luffy's face paled slightly and he grinned before taking off. Ichigo watched him go.

What had he gotten them into?


End file.
